BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING Minutes of virtual meeting December 13, 2022 Call Meeting to Order Secretary, Mark Wiedelman, called meeting to order at 8:32 am. Attendance Present: Mark Wiedelman, Hansen Clarke, Marie Jackson, Tom Landry, John McCulloch, Paul Palmer, Jane Shank Absent: Brian Calley, Davin Hemmila Staff present: Michelle Roberts, Michele Brand, Theresa Diebolt, Elham Jahshan, Kris Keranen, Sara Koroniotis, Mark McWilliams, Kyle Williams Guests: Emily Henderson, Lobbyist, Malkia Newman, Mora Wilkevicz, James Rye, Christina Agle, Veronica Ibrahim, Chris Land Approval of Consent Agenda Secretary Wiedelman asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda. John McCulloch MOVED to approve the consent agenda and Tom Landry seconded. A vote was taken. AYES: all NAYS: none Motion carried. Executive Director and Staff Reports Michelle Roberts, Executive Director, was happy to report the Rockin for Rehab event was a huge success. It was held at the Lansing Country Club on November 11 and approximately 260 people attended. Dr. Fabiano and his wife, Janet, did an outstanding job and asked if we are interested in doing it again next year. The event grossed over $41,000 and DRM received a check for $20,000 after all expenses were paid. Michelle thanked everyone for their time, donations and attending the event. Roberts shared the new CEO at NDRN, Marlene Sallo, joined us virtually at our December all staff in-service. Sallo shared a little of her background prior to NDRN and was well received by staff. Additional DRM updates included finishing up the annual Program Performance Reports (PPRs). There is potential for additional vaccine funds which may include influenza vaccines and a grant proposal was recently submitted by NDRN. Also, we recently welcomed a few new PAIMI Advisory Council members. Sara Koroniotis reported the Rep Payee Team is in the 4th month of their fiscal year and have completed 484 interviews that have included beneficiaries, third parties, and legal guardians. They have identified 1,026 deficiencies in how payees are managing their duties. Her team is traveling all over the state conducting reviews and are on track to meet their target number of reviews for the year. In May 2022, Sara was selected to work with SSA to revise the business process document which is the guide used to conduct reviews. That guide should be completed within the next few months. Mark McWilliams was happy to report the Vaccine Advocacy Team vaccinated approximately 1600 people during the last fiscal year. The State discontinued their mobile clinic funding, and we picked it up with our grant and are working with a vendor to go into homes, including group homes and public housing, where there is a huge demand for vaccinations. Alpena is an area in which we do not receive many calls, however we have found at least 50 people who wanted their first dose of the vaccine. McWilliams shared that Marlene Sallo, NDRN CEO, contacted us, prior to her briefing at the White House, asking if we know anything about vaccination. McWilliams had just finished writing the first annual report and was able to provide her with the information. A week later, a notice of available funds came from our funding agency which included coverage for flu vaccines. We are making progress and Michigan is at around 35% of its population that has received all boosters. We just finished up the first grant which was a little over $100,000. We are working on one grant (from the State - DHHS) for about $1.4 million for this fiscal year and another one, also from the State (through MPHI – Michigan Public Health Institute), for approximately $580,000 which was recently finalized. The State grant is intended to continue through June 2024 which is the end of the contract. We also received a grant from United Way for $24,000 which has been used up. We got a couple smaller grants as well. There was discussion around costs of vaccines and how expensive it is to hold mobile clinics and get people vaccinated. Mark McWilliams is acting as interim Intake, Information & Referral (I&R) Director and stated I&R had received over 1,100 calls and average 410 calls per month and education, institutional rights, employment, social security, housing, COVID and guardianship make up about 70% of the incoming calls. Elham Jahshan said the Employment Team has been participating in events at MSU. The Michigan Employment Clinic (MI-EC) is a program that supports people with disabilities and people with criminal backgrounds to secure employment. The team was invited by MSU to attend an open house for STRIDE (Services, Training, and Research for Independence and Employment). The Center assists people with disabilities with employment, independent living, education, and community engagement. Rachel Huddleston stated the Communications Team has been extremely busy as all four staff have been settling into their new roles. Sarah, Data Integrity Specialist, has been manipulating Program Performance Report (PPR) data. Voting Engagement Specialist, Rachel, has been doing voting blogs, podcasts, videos, events, and completed 62 polling place ADA assessments. They are currently working on a “Know Your Rights Guide” with Promote the Vote which should be finalized in September 2023. Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, wants to meet with the team to discuss what they are working on. They recently launched a DRM litigation tracker on the DRM website which continues to receive national attention and other P&As want to know more about it. The Assistive Technology social media project should be finalized by the end of December and the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) landing page will be finalized in the Spring. Kris Keranen reported the Education Team is anxious for the Perez case hearing that will be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court on January 18 (more details in her written report). We are very hopeful for a positive outcome and should know something by June. They also have two cases in Federal court against the Department of Education regarding Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). It is the one-year anniversary of the Oxford shooting and they continue to receive many calls regarding kids making threats, kids getting suspended, and informal removals in addition to suspensions and expulsions and are seeing it in new ways. Some school systems are making kids attend school virtually instead of suspending them. We are seeing kids of all ages being put through the court system after making threats. Kyle Williams referred to his written report and highlighted a few things. In the KB litigation, the Judge granted the motion for class certification which will now include 60,000 children under the age of 21. Workgroups are being created for crisis stabilization services, children’s behavioral health workforce development, and to conduct research on ways to expand and improve community treatment options with specific goals targeted towards child welfare population. The Bureau of Children’s Coordinated Health Policy and Supports was created to proactively restructure the delivery of specialty health services to Michigan’s children, youth, and families. The Waskul case is past discovery, and they are in the process of picking a mediator in an attempt to get the case resolved, hopefully in a favorable manner. A Court of Appeals case, Baksh vs Livingston County Community Mental Health (CMH), addresses a core issue we feel is very important which is the ability to redress issues through the administrative hearing system that is set up to resolve issues for Medicaid recipients. The client did not receive services for over two years. The legal team was finally able to get Mr. Baksh the services he needs and deserves. Without litigation, the team was able to investigate and resolve an issue that affected approximately 120 people being subjected to a new residential housing assessment for individuals with developmental disabilities. People that need 24/7 care were having their care discounted and were facing tremendous service reductions. The team worked with MDHHS and got that assessment changed without going to court. Another case in which DRM was able to resolve without going to court was one that involved an individual who required 24/7 care and CMH tried to put some of the responsibility of care onto the individual’s family members. DRM appealed and attended a conference prior to the scheduled hearing which resulted in added services for the client in addition to what they had previously received. That case was resolved without a trial. President report President Shank commented on the amount of work that DRM is doing and thanked them for all the hard work they continue to do. She reminded members to please complete the annual forms and return them to Theresa by Friday, December 16. This is a requirement for all board members. Jane announced Mark Stephenson’s resignation from the board. Paul Palmer has agreed to act as First Vice President and Mark Wiedelman has agreed to act as Second Vice President. She stated the secretary position is currently vacant and we need to work on growing the board. Jane attended the Board Basics webinar through NDRN and said it was a great refresher course and encouraged board members to look at the recording of the webinar. She also thanked members for their time and serving on the board. Public comment Malkia Newman commended DRM for the work they do and plans to submit an application to serve on the board. Sean Bennett submitted a written public comment regarding informed consent and the right to refuse psychiatric drugs. A copy was emailed to everyone attending the meeting. PAIMI Advisory Council update Marie Jackson stated she is also grateful and proud of the work DRM does and is happy to be serving as Chair of the Council. Committee reports Board Development/Nominating Committee John McCulloch stated Selena Schmidt has termed out and Davin Hemmila is up for reelection for his second term. John McCulloch MOVED to accept the committee report and to elect Davin Hemmila to his second term on the Board and Paul Palmer seconded. A vote was taken. AYES: all NAYS: none Motion carried. Budget & Finance Committee Michele Brand stated the audit went well and is currently in review. She reiterated that DRM did receive a check for $20,000 for the Rockin for Rehab event with an approximate net profit of $12,000-$13,000 mainly due to staff time preparing for the occasion. We consider it a huge success for the first time doing this type of event. There have been some cash flow issues with the State of Michigan as they are behind in paying us on the vaccine grant, however we are doing fine and will be okay. We received over $50,000 in donations last year. We closed October books and were on right target. The Audit Committee will meet to review and discuss the audit report, and the board will receive a copy of the report after the committee meets. Public Policy Committee Emily Henderson mentioned bills 597 and 598 which are focused on mental health integrations and Senator Mike Shirkey tried to push them through to the House however those bills did not pass his chamber. One bill that did go through was the disability organ transplant bill HB 4762 sponsored by Representative Kahle which was sitting on the Governor’s desk waiting for her signature. That bill prohibits providers from discriminating against individuals with disabilities from receiving or donating an organ. Emily will keep us updated on that bill. Committee assignments will be coming out soon. There will be an economic development committee and they are looking at adding a mental health committee as well as a health policy committee. Old Business Annual forms are due to Theresa as soon as possible. New Business President Shank indicated it is that time of year for the annual Ernie Reynolds essay contest and a committee of volunteers is needed to review the entries and select winners. Thank you for the members who volunteered, Tom Landry, Mark Wiedelman, and Marie Jackson. A meeting will be scheduled for the committee to meet and determine the 2023 winners, who will be announced at the next meeting. Executive Session Tom Landry MOVED to go into executive session and Mark Wiedelman seconded. A vote was taken. AYES: all NAYS: none Motion carried. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned to executive session at 10:47 am and executive session adjourned at 11:01 am. Minutes prepared by: Theresa Diebolt, Executive Assistant Minutes approved by: Mark Wiedelman, Secretary